Classic & Vintage - Nishiki Mixte found! rear brake question

i spent 5 hours going to each and every thrift shop i could find looking specifically for a 48cm mixte frame for my gf. the very last shop on the list and WHAM! there is the perfect bike sitting in front of the store! an older nishiki olympic 12 mixte measuring out to 48cm! its in perfect shape and has 165 cranks and toe clips with leather straps. two stickers on the tubes from races in dc or something like that. $30 it was in my hatchback.
i took it for a test ride and i must say it is a very comfortable and responsive bike. the reason im posting is because i have issues with the rear brake...

does anyone else have problems with their foot hitting the brake on the upstroke? the brake is not placed in the usual position of regular rear brakes on road bikes. its on a lower tube below the usual placement. its pretty annoying hitting it like that, its really in the way. any remedies?

ps. if anyone could give me more info about the nishiki olympic 12, id appreciate it!

Not yet, am trying to find serial #charts to find out type of steel used in Nishiki Tri A\ Proffesional I found. Little luck. I'll post any info that comes up for you.

Is there any way you can remount the brake caliper in the conventional position, perhaps by drilling a hole in the seat stay bridge? You could then use either pulleys or cable housing to route the cable between the top tubes, then up behind the seat tube and down to the rear brake. Alternatively, you can bring the cable up through the bottom of a sidepull brake.

Not yet, am trying to find serial #charts to find out type of steel used in Nishiki Tri A\ Proffesional I found. Little luck. I'll post any info that comes up for you.

Jeff -- Are you sure it isn't Tange Prestige CrMo?

Perhaps we Nishiki [former] owners can compile a serial number data base. I'll start:
American Eagle Semi-Pro, originally purchased for $150 in March 1971;
serial number (stamped in BB shell): KS78091
Ishiwata d.b. CrMo main triangle; CrMo stays(?); carbon steel fork (?)
Raleigh-style wrap-around seat stay
Sunshine high-flange hubs
171mm Sugino Mighty Compe Crank, 54-47 rings on 144mm BCD
padded vinyl saddle (ugh)
SunTour V-GT rear derailleur; reverse-shift SunTour front derailleur
SunTour downtube levers with rubberized vinyl caps
DiaCompe 610/750 centerpulls, copy of Weinmann Vainqueur 999; suicide levers
Araya rims, 27x1-1/4" gumwall tyres, generic Japanese stainless steel spokes
Kyokuto Pro Ace road quill pedals with clips and straps
14-18-22-27-34 SunTour freewheel

I think the brake is usually mounted to the "top" tube about halfway down the seat tube. Is that where yours is? What type of brake is it?

Bob Skillman Ellicott City MD

I think the brake is usually mounted to the "top" tube about halfway down the seat tube. Is that where yours is? What type of brake is it?

Bob Skillman Ellicott City MD

yup, the brake is mounted halfway down the seat tube, a top the split 'top' tube. the brake is an old dia-comp 500 with a weird switch thing to adjust the brakes in two separate tensions. never seen that before. yeah, anyway, because of its placement, the rear of my foot hits the brake almost every time. im thinking about relocating the brake to where rear brakes are usually located. you dont have any problem with your foot hitting the brake?

hey bob, im in balto. co too

just went out and looked at my wife's gitane mixte 1970 vintage. The top rear stay from the top of the seat tube to the rear wheel has a cross brace but its closer to the wheel than a normal brake support and it has a hole drilled in the wrong direction. Hole is oriented to mount a fender or maybe a rack. If you have something like this maybe an adapter block of some kind could be bolted to it to affix the brake. I've seen mafac pulleys that mount to the seat post bolt and would get the cable where you need it.

Does your girlfirend's foot hit the brake?

it hits her foot depending on what shoes she is wearing. i may just take the brake apart and remove that switch thing that varies the brake tension. seem unnecessary and it is what is catching the foot.

no one else has had this problem?

If the odd swtiches are causeing the clearance problems, a newer sidepull caliper brake may fix it.

The newer sidepull would be a long-drop Shimano caliper. This is a non-groupset item, but still in production. Its miles better than vintage brakes, and I would seriously recomend you get one for the front as well.

it hits her foot depending on what shoes she is wearing. i may just take the brake apart and remove that switch thing that varies the brake tension. seem unnecessary and it is what is catching the foot.

no one else has had this problem?

The "switch" is there to open the brakes wider when removing the wheel. That way, you can set up the brakes close to the rim. If you remove the "switch", you'll have to back off the tension nut whenever you remove the wheel and then reset it when you put the wheel back on. Not too difficult, but suboptimal nonetheless.

i did a search for mixte on ebay and this came up http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=7298&item=3685074688&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW
looks like the rear brakes are set up with centerpull brakes. these style brakes should fix up the foot snag problem.

these are cantilever brakes, right? do they still make brakes in this style (meaning ones that bolt on simply with one bolt rather than having those post things already built into the frame)?